Twisted
by x silhouette dreams x
Summary: Things on Castanet have been fine, up until now. Romances are shattered, some are in the shadows; some are in the form of lust while others are in love. Everyone's line of fire intersects; between Molly, Luke, Chase, Owen, Kathy, Calvin, Luna, Selena, Maya, and Gill, things start to get a little twisted.
1. Prologue

They were an unlikely group of friends. All bundled up in each other's company in the comfort of the Brass Bar. It was one of the first nights in awhile where Kathy wasn't set to work the evening, and this riled bunch celebrated by, of course, getting a drink in the one place she would've rather have not been. But at this hour, it was the only place these friends were going to take a seat and drink a beer, maybe have some fun fruity drinks while talking about the latest gossip of the town. That was for sure Kathy's favorite thing to do, and while Molly didn't mind it she sure as heck didn't look for it. But with Kathy always came along trouble, which meant their friendship was in for the long haul. Molly didn't know what to expect when she first moved to Castanet last year; she expected to make some bank for a while and head back into the city to maybe take a hit at that career she had expected to lift off since she started college six years back. However, her search for a job was helpless and Castanet Island managed to call for her, and a year later she found herself comfortably stable. She didn't want to stay in Castanet, but the friends she made wouldn't let her go. Her heart was already convinced to stay, but her brain just needed the support from her troubled friends. They called themselves the Crew, a bunch of stragglers, a bunch of differences in a weird mix of five unlikely adults.

A farmer, a waitress, a carpenter, a blacksmith, and an archeologist. Molly, Kathy, Luke, Owen, and Calvin didn't expect to find themselves in the Brass Bar that night, for it was a Tuesday in the dead of Fall and no one usually stopped by on those days, and at ten o'clock at night. But the second word got around that Kathy _finally_ had a night off, the Crew did only what any group of great friends would do; go get drinks.

Seat at a square table, Molly and Kathy sat next to each other, Molly directly in front of Calvin and Kathy directly in front of Owen. To Molly's right, at the head of the table, was Luke, suddenly holding his freshly poured beer up for the group, ready to make a toast.

"To Kathy's first night off, _let's get drunk!_ " we all touched glasses, as Kathy leaned over and swatted his arm. His golden eyes widened, his orbs reflecting like suns, as he squeaked, "Hey!"

"My boss is right there!" she hissed through her teeth.

"Your boss is also your dad," Owen chimed in, squeezing her hand.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah yeah, so what? Still not trying to get fired."

Our laughter rolled over as we all took sips from our glass, the room empty and all of the noise being centered in our spot in the room. Hayden—Kathy's father and boss—was cleaning glasses behind the bar. Gentle conversation floated between the five of them, talking about what their days have been like and how work has been handling. Calvin was really onto something in the dig sight while Owen and Luke were both working on big projects in their part of the islands. Kathy explained how slow work has been lately and how they were trying to figure out ways to up the business again.

"Y'know, I heard Selena was looking for work," Molly chimed in. Kathy rolled her eyes over to glare at her.

"It's hard to make more money when we'll be spending it on extra work. I'm surprised my father hasn't fired me yet so that the bar doesn't have to shut down."

Molly shook her head. "I mean, Selena's a great dancer! Maybe if you guys had some entertainment, it would bring more people in."

"I'd come every night to watch her dance," Luke's eyes grew wide, as well as his smile. Both Kathy and Molly rolled their eyes in disgust.

Molly turned back to face Kathy, and shrugged. "May as well suggest the idea to your dad."

She sighed. "I suppose," she turned back to the table, clearly dropping the topic. "Alright, another round and then we head home?" We all nodded, as she whistled for her father to bring out one more round of drinks.

Just as Hayden was preparing his tray, Chase worked his way out of the kitchen, his apron draped over his shoulder and his head looking straight down at his feet. He started trudging fast past their table, before Molly looked up and caught his cream-colored locks across the way.

"Hey, Chase!" she called, smiling and waving.

Chase stopped in his tracks, and turned over to see Molly before breaking a smirk and waving back. He cautiously approached the group, before standing with a distance from the backs of Calvin and Owen.

"Hey, Molly."

"Didn't the kitchen close like, hours ago?" Luke wondered.

He nodded, shrugging his shoulders. "It closed at eight. But I still needed to clean up, and prep it for tomorrow so I could start with no delay."

"So, are you here this late every night?" Molly asked.

"Yeah. Hey sorry, I really should get going, I gotta be up early tomorrow to get started. I'll see you all around. Bye Molly," he waved them off, before walking out the door.

Kathy immediately found herself on Molly's shoulder, smiling like a fool. Molly glanced down at her, but her ponytail immediately got caught up in Molly's mouth as she attempted to spit the golden locks out. Kathy giggled, unmoved by the saliva coating her hair, as she cooed, "You so like him."

Molly, taken aback, replied, "What? I do not!"

"It's pretty adorable, actually," Calvin decided to hop on.

"Guys, I don't like anyone on the island," Molly glared between her four friends, giving them all a look. "Really."

"How could you be here for now a year and a half and say you haven't taken feelings for anyone?" Owen decided to join the conversation. "You said so yourself you weren't going to be here this long, _something_ must've gotten you to stay."

"You guys!" she quickly retaliated. "You guys are my best friends. Some of the best I've ever had. I didn't want to leave you guys."

"I call bullshit!" Luke bellowed.

She scrunched up her nose and gave him a smack on the arm. He glanced between the two girls of the group and said, "Why does everyone keep hitting me?"

The girls both snickered, but Kathy quickly reeled the conversation back in. "But seriously, you have to like someone."

Molly shook her head. "Just because you and Owen have each other, and everyone else may like someone, doesn't mean that I do."

Owen squeezed Kathy's hand again, the two of them smiling adorably at one another. Their relationship was precious. They've been together since Molly moved to the islands, and a bit before that. All Molly knew was that in the Winter, their two year was approaching and Kathy said she wanted to make it memorable and special. However, she said that about nearly everything.

"Well what about you, huh, Calvin? Or Luke?" Molly's head flicked between the two of them that sat closest to her.

They both shook their heads. "No one," Calvin replied, "but my dig sight."

"Or my axe," Luke leaned on his hands, "Axel is my one true love."

Now the table collectively rolled their eyes. Nobody could ever stomach the fact that Luke took it to the extreme of naming his axe. If it were legal, none of us would have been surprised if he actually _did_ end up marrying it. Or her. No one was quite to sure what to say around him, he took the subject of his axe very seriously, and very sensitively.

When Hayden walked over with the drinks, Luke couldn't help it but lift his glass for yet another toast. Everyone, realizing quickly Luke's love for toasts, mirrored his actions, while Luke said, "Cheers to all of us. To happy lives, and to hoping that Molly will finally find someone to like. _For once._ Cheers!"

But little did anyone at that table know the lies that were floating between the five. Some of the lies were yet to be born. Some of them were hovering between one another currently. People took interests in some that they never expected to feel things for. Some watch their relationships grow and dissipate with time. Some dig deeper to find only lust, some dig even further to strike love. Nevertheless, Castanet Island was taking a ride. Relationships, deceit, and secrets were in the air, in the water, all around: and there was no escaping from it. Twisted, right?

 **A/N: Hey everyone! So I realize that I currently am still working on Reflection. Updates are still going to be happening with that! However, this idea popped into my head and I kind of wanted to get it down. I really try my best not to write things that are solely about love and relationships, but for some reason Harvest Moon just does that to me. So if you're looking for more relationship drama, here it is. Also, side note: I never played Animal Parade. I have played Tree of Tranquility, but I realize that Animal Parade is probably something more people would like to read just a bit more so PLEASE HANG TIGHT AND I'M SORRY IF I GET ANYTHING WRONG. I'm trying my best to educate myself so that I can produce this in the best version I can (hey, at least I know the majority of the characters, right?) Last thing: sorry this chapter is short, it's more like a prologue than a Chapter 1. It just kind of sets up a bit of the scene and the direction this story is going to take. Also sorry for the extremely long author's note. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Molly (1)

**MOLLY**

Molly, feeling a slight buzz in her head, sluggishly made her way outside and started to work on her farm. She didn't realize she had too much to drink until the damage had been done. Maybe if she didn't skip dinner the hangover wouldn't be hammering into her head so much; maybe if she _drank_ more often, she'd be able to hold her own.

Trying to shake the feeling and fake it while she moved around her fields, she couldn't help but keep last night's conversation in her head. All she heard was Kathy's piercing voice in her left ear asking her, "Do you like anyone?" like a broken record. She didn't have feelings for Chase—they were just very good friends.

Chase was obviously not in Molly's core group of friends, but that was what she liked about him. When she wanted to get away from the rowdiness and fast-paced lifestyle the Crew always managed to drag her in, Chase always seemed to bring her down to earth. She needed that, but not romantically. His first introduction to her was him spilling a pasta dish all over her shoes. Molly was too baffled to do anything else but stand in the middle of the restaurant while he ran around trying to find some soap and a paper towel to clean her off. By the end of it, she was sitting in a chair laughing at some crude joke he had just made. From then she always found herself sauntering into the Brass Bar and just taking a seat by herself so she could have occasional chats with the head chef. Sometimes she'd even wait until he got off on Fridays so they could hang out in her house, or his, depending on the week. The fact that he wasn't in the Crew just made his company all the more enjoyable.

So when Molly finished watering her crops and tending to her animals (she had two cows, a sheep, and almost a dozen chickens and a beautiful chocolate brown horse) she found herself in the center of Harmonica Town, turning into the local watering hole.

As soon as walked in, she made herself comfy in one of the back tables. Flashbacks to the night before came back to her as she remembered toasting, laughing, and the inevitable interrogation. Quickly shaking that from her mind, she watched as Chase made his way out of the kitchen to see his friend sitting at her usual table, as he gave a relaxed smirk and leaned over the other side.

"Fancy seeing you back so soon," he joked. "How was last night?"

Molly shook her head, staring at the table. "Awful. Never again."

Immediately, Chase pulled out the chair and his smile had fallen. "What's up?"

Seeing his concerned reaction, Molly lightened up. She didn't like to make him worry, which, he did often. She could be a bit overdramatic, she realized, so she tried to take it down a few notches. For his sake, of course.

"Nah, you know Kathy. She just _looooves_ to play the love game," Molly rolled her eyes. These conversations had come up so often that was what she referred it to.

Chase, always on the other end of these rants, rolled his eyes. He leaned on the table and rested his round head on his tired hand as he asked, uninterested, "Whom does she think you like now? Is it "

Molly broke a small smirk. She locked his purple orbs and bit her lip as she said, "You."

Chase nearly hit his head on the table. Molly couldn't help but break a small smile as she watched him freak out. While she knew she could be overdramatic, Chase was no different. While Chase can also worry too much, he also reacts heavy. Molly continued to giggle as he tried to compose himself and come back to the restaurant. Fixing his hair and leaning back in the chair, Chase finally stared her down and said, " _What?_ "

She shrugged. "I dunno. She picked up a vibe or something."

He immediately shook his head, staring up at the ceiling and laughing to himself. When his eyes were brought back to meet her own, he leaned in and said in a low voice, "So she thinks we have a vibe, but she can't see your thing for Luke?"

Hearing his name in that sentence made Molly shudder. She checked the tables around her—none were in significant hearing range—as she shrugged her shoulders yet again. Molly had a thing for Luke, and there was no doubt about that. She found him strong, fun, and insanely attractive; all things she looked for in a guy. While sometimes he may be immature, he always had a positive aura and that was exactly what Molly liked. She wanted optimism, someone spontaneous and fiery. She wanted Luke.

"I guess not," Molly shrugged her shoulders with a smirk. "I dunno. I guess I'm really conscious about it when I'm with the Crew so I try not to make any weird comments…or whatever."

"Even _when_ you do that it's still obvious you have a thing for him."

She whacked him in the shoulder. "Shut it."

She knew that he was right, hence the love tap on the shoulder. She tried her best to keep it subtle but sometimes she'd catch herself right after the act was done. Whether it was a romantic touch of the shoulder to just staring at him in public to even just watching him for a couple seconds in the forest before quietly approaching him. Whatever the situation may have been, she was so far from keeping it under wraps. But clearly she couldn't have been doing too awful if Kathy wasn't able to pick it up.

Throwing the entire conversation aside, Chase asked, "So, Molls, what could I get you for lunch today?"

She grinned sweetly and said, "Just the usual, thanks."

Her usual was a hot plate of spaghetti, the very dish that Chase had all over her shoes on the day they became friends. She always had it with a glass of water and a slice of lemon; it was very plain and simple, just how Molly liked to keep things. Plain and simple.

But her crush on Luke wasn't very plain and simple. If Luke had feelings for her too, and the duo began to date, how would that affect the dynamic of the Crew? Before anything else that thought always streamed through her mind. Obviously Kathy and Owen had been dating forever, before the Crew was even assembled. So at that point, whatever friendship the five of them had going on didn't make anyone feel uncomfortable, or at least didn't make Molly feel uncomfortable. She worried that Calvin would feel strange if she and Luke became a thing, considering Kathy and Owen were already a solid item. Thoughts like these rummaged through her mind, thoughts of Luke consuming her like no one has ever before. It was disturbing and unnatural and even foreign; she had feelings of course, but she always had put her work first. Whether that had been school, her career, or her farm, whatever she was doing that required her drive usually excluded a boy.

Molly would be lying if she convinced herself that she wasn't attracted to Luke when they first met. She wanted to upgrade her house for the first time and the only possible way for her to do that was to collect lumber in the Fugue Forest. She awkwardly made her way over there, lugging this axe that weighed about half her own, when she saw him slugging away at a tall tree. He was so focused, he muscles tightened as he swung one after the other with large force. Captivated by his striking blue hair and defined built, it was easy to say that Molly was star struck. He finally took notice to her, where the two began to talk. It was easy talking to him, Molly remembered, because of his jubilant attitude and energy. She remembered the help he offered her when she explained how she had never used an axe let alone collected lumber, and he kindly instructed and demonstrated the proper technique. Needless to say, after about two hours in the forest she felt comfortable with him. It wasn't love at first sight, and Molly knew that, but the pit in her stomach that swarmed with butterflies definitely guaranteed at least like at first sight.

After Chase had brought out her meal and Molly finished it, she left the money along with a generous tip to Chase on the table. He came back out one last time to wish her farewell, along with a few other comments.

"So where are you off to now?" he wondered as he began cleaning her table. He wasn't a waiter but he always felt the need to after Molly had come by.

She gave him another shrug in reply. "Not sure! I guess we'll just see where I end up. Talk to you later!"

They waved each other off as Molly opened the door and made her way outside. It was as if fate had listened to her call because as she was about to march through town she collided with a taller, larger body, causing her to recoil backwards. She glanced up and smiled, to find it was no one else than Owen.

"Hey!" they said in unison, until finally laughing it off.

"Where are you headed?" she asked him.

"I'm heading up towards Dale's place to bug Luke, where're you going?"

"No clue to be honest, I was kind of hoping I could find plans."

"Well good thing you bumped into me, right? Come on, let's go annoy Luke together."

How could Molly pass up an opportunity like that, right?

Without a second to delay, she followed Owen as they trekked through Harmonica Town up into the Garmon District. They turned into the carpenter's shop, or as everyone just referred to it as Dale's place, and pushed the door open to hear a faint bell above their heads. When the two walked in, they looked around to notice the office looked relatively empty. Confused, Owen bellowed, " _Helloooooo?_ "

"Back here!" a voice immediately called from the back of the room. It was most definitely Luke's voice, and Molly was sure of it. She could recognize his voice from anywhere.

Smiling at each other, Owen and Molly made their way to the back of the room to see Luke on a chair, his feet kicked up on the table against the wall. He glanced up at the two of them and gave them that cheeky smile he always threw around.

"Hey guys!" he cheered as he brought his feet down to the ground. "What brings you guys over here?"

"I was just coming to bother you and picked up a straggler along the way," Owen nudged her.

She shrugged. "It's true."

"She was begging and crying to come along. I wasn't going to do it but I mean, she got down on her knees and started crying man. I couldn't say no."

 _Quit it, Owen,_ Molly thought and smiled, feeling all of the blood rush to her head. _I know you're joking but this_ isn't _funny!_

Luke now shifted his gaze to meet Molly's, giving her a cute smirk. He said in his gooiest tone, "You really missed me that much, Molls? It's only been fifteen hours!"

"Ya' caught me," she threw up her hands in an embarrassed attempt to stay cool. "Owen promised he wouldn't tell but clearly he's a filthy liar."

Owen, his smile proud and bold, quickly fell into a flushed frown. "Why you gotta call me filthy?" Molly couldn't hold back a grin as he stared at her with fake, sad eyes. It caused her to laugh louder than she expected.

"Hey O, where's Kathy?" Luke wondered as Molly and Owen decided to sit up on the table that Luke's feet had rested comfortably moments ago.

"She said she was at the tailor," he began to explain, "I dunno, she said there was a hem that needed to be fixed? Something in one of her work clothes? She just said that her dad told her she needed to get it fixed before her shift that night so she obviously didn't want to mess with Hayden's wrath."

They all chuckled at that statement. Hayden was one of the nicest people. He had a mean face but a warm heart, and that was a phrase they all threw around him often. He didn't mind it, in fact, everyone was convinced he liked it; he always broke out a smile when someone said it.

The trio talked for a while after that. They talked about the night before, their hangovers, Luke's lack of a hangover, and then, as the three spiraled deeper and deeper into last night's conversations, the once-again inevitable question was placed in front of Molly. She dreaded it every time it came up. She only expected it with Kathy around, because there was nothing Kathy loved more than juicy gossip, especially when it came to romances on the island. But the blonde bombshell wasn't here to start the conversation, nevertheless keep it going. Instead, her bulky, redheaded boyfriend decided to take that responsibility for her.

"So, we ask again," Owen glared over at Molly with a sharp eye. " _Who_ in Goddess' name do you like on the island!"

"No one!" she lied. The reaction came so quick that it was second nature. She usually never had to lie about this, but because for years and years to come she always had that response prepared for that question that even as a lie it was the first answer to escape her lips. She couldn't help it that she was prepared.

"Calling bullshit times seven," Luke glared at her.

His gaze caused goose bumps down her arms and the feeling of the blood rushing to her face again. She couldn't imagine either of them seeing her face so red; they'd know something was up in an instant if either one of them noticed. A red face was difficult to hide, in case you weren't aware.

"Seriously," she glared at him back, as hard as that was to do without feeling flirtatious in any way. "I'm too focused on my farm to be thinking about boys…well what about you, Luke? I'm calling bullshit on you too!"

"What?!" his mouth went agape.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but…" Owen popped himself off the table, "…I think I need to head out. Ramsey probably needs me back over there, I've really overstayed my welcome."

 _No. No no. Please don't leave me,_ Molly thought, the idea of she and Luke completely alone nearly terrifying her.

"Alright man," the boys dapped each other, as Luke gave him a quick pat on the arm. "See you around."

Molly and Owen gave a small exchange of a smile and a wave before he cleared his way through the carpenter's office and out of the door, faintly hearing the bell chime in the distance. That left Molly and Luke alone in the back room, in the middle of Molly questioning Luke about his personal life.

 _Fantastic._

"…Well, you heard me. Spill it," Molly egged him on. There was no going back now, she figured.

Luke rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "Molly, there's no one! Really."

She noticed that his voice grew calmer. It was a soothing calm, one that she rarely heard. The only times she ever heard it were the rare occasions in which the two of them were absolutely alone. That really didn't happen to often, as Molly feared being alone with him in case he could read her better if they were in a private setting. The control meter had been set on high, and she was really doing her best to try and contain the rush of emotions that had now consumed her whole being.

"C'mon I mean… you're _you!_ You have to like someone. I mean, it's not weird for me not to like anyone. I never like anyone. But you're always throwing around crushes on people. Remember when you liked Phoebe for maybe a week?"

"Four days, actually, thanks," Luke spit back, smiles forming between the two.

"But seriously, you're always liking someone, so yeah, calling absolute bullshit on you not liking anyone now."

And all he did was give her a shrug. "Nope. No one."

Frustrated with his answers, Molly rolled her eyes into the back of her head and leaned up from against the wall. She was now had her body weight leaning on her arms that were pressed straight onto the table as she stared down at the blue-haired axe wielder.

"Well then is there anyone you at least find _attractive?_ "

It only took him a few seconds before he sparked a seductive smile and said, "You."

Molly felt her heart cave in quickly. She wasn't expecting that. It was as if her entire body went into a sort of shut down mode and she was trying to reboot. Everything blacked out and Molly panicked beneath her skin. Trying to revive herself, all she could garble out of her mouth was, "What?"

"Was that the answer you were looking for?" Luke raised a brow, his smirk not leaving his face.

Speechless, she just stared at the boy's glowing orbs as she tried to restore herself internally.

"Yeah, I find you attractive. Beautiful even. Always have…" Molly noticed his cheeks flushing and she couldn't help but smile. It made her feel more comfortable about her own rosy cheeks, at the least.

"…Aw man what am I saying! I never would've said this to you," Luke, now clearly flustered, began awkwardly readjusting his bandana. "You're just really, really pretty."

Nearly hiding her face now, she replied, "T-thank you."

A small silence fell between the two. It didn't last long though. Luke looked up at her and said sarcastically, "Well? Isn't this where you tell me that I'm pretty too or did I miss that part of the agreement?"

Molly couldn't help but belt a laugh, finally the mushy vibe rising above them and the playful tone setting back in. She had never had that vibe come from both ends of the party before. But since he decided to let out a little of what was inside, she obviously couldn't let him break down barriers by himself.

"Well I do think you're pretty. Er—handsome. Attractive? Ugh." She slapped her hand on the side of her face while Luke laughed at her. He rose up off of his chair while she just wallowed in her own mistakes, until he began to approach her.

He got very close to her, almost strangely close as Molly felt oddly comfortable yet uncomfortable. He pushed a brown lock out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. Immediately that uncomfortable feeling fizzled and died, as all she saw were shining golden eyes and the want to get closer.

"Stop me if this is wrong," he whispered.

Molly didn't know how else to react. She watched as Luke brought his hand to the side of her face, and slowly began to lean in. Knots tying in her stomach, she closed her eyes.

And there it was. In the faint distance, the bell above the door chimed. Everything stopped once Dale's profound voice hollered, " _Luke?_ "

Simultaneously their eyes opened, Molly just now realizing how close Luke's lips were to her own. He sighed as he then pressed his forehead against hers, smiling with frustration. He found himself retreating as Molly felt her heart ache for him to come closer yet again.

" _Luuuuuke!_ "

"In the back!" he shouted in reply, the eye contact he kept with her not breaking. Molly couldn't help but grin as Luke then said lowly to her, "Next time."


	3. Kathy (1)

**KATHY**

Kathy watched as Owen started to walk away from her. She sighed; she hated lying to him, especially now that it came so easily to her. It was hard at first, sneaking around and throwing him bones while she ran off the other way. And while it still hurt to watch him walk away while he thought she was about to turn to the tailor, she couldn't help but feel a rush of emotions. She then noticed Molly walk out of the Brass Bar and walk right into him, a few small exchanges go on between them, and then the two of them walk away together. Some more relief came over Kathy as she then walked toward the Ocarina Inn.

Every time she approached this place, a strange excitement rolled around in her stomach. She pushed the heavy door open as she comfortably walked right through the lobby and made her way to the back towards the rooms. It was all just very robotic for her; this route was nothing new. She had been doing this for quite a while now, almost two full seasons. She finally made it to the room she desired, the room she didn't even have to check the room number to see if it was correct anymore, and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" the familiar voice called on the other side.

With a grin, Kathy opened the door and walked into the inn room and said, "Hey there."

"Hey you," Calvin replied, standing up and immediately pressing her against the door. He gave her a forceful—yet passionate—kiss on the mouth.

"You don't hesitate."

"Why would I when I have a beautiful girl in my room all to myself?"

He kissed her again, this time gentler, as she noticed that he was taking advantage of the fact that he had her in between him and the door.

"Y'know," he started, as he began to trail down her neck, "I really wanted to take you home with me last night."

Kathy recalled going back to Owen's after the Crew's night of rambunctious drinking. She told her father that she was staying over Molly's place, while then scurrying off with Owen. Calvin had watched them go; she always felt weird being with Owen when Calvin was around. The feeling was relatively unavoidable due to the fact that the five of them are all best friends.

"Calvin," she sighed, as he began to nibble at her neck, "stop, you can't leave any marks because of—"

"Owen, I know," he groaned in response. Only in these kinds of situations Kathy was able to notice how much he hated saying his name. He brought his head back up to look at her.

Calvin had beautiful light brown hair, but under any kind of lighting it glowed like gold. His eyes were a murky chocolate brown; they were innocent and gentle. Kathy had always found herself attracted to Calvin, even for as long as she had been dating Owen. She never found herself attracted to his personality until just recently. She took a curious taking to wandering the mines, trying to understand what Calvin, Phoebe, and Molly would do in there with whatever time they had. She eventually stumbled across Calvin, who was sitting on the mine floor taking notes of what was around him. She decided to join him, as he explained to her what exactly he did and why he spent all of his time here. That moment was the first time Kathy found herself attracted to him, deeper than his exterior. She appreciated his passion for what he did. As a waitress working under her father, a trait she always found admirable was hard work and passion for that work. And while Owen was obviously deeply invested with his blacksmith work, there was something different with the way Calvin spoke to Kathy that one day, late in the Springtime. She suddenly found him sexy, suddenly wanting to explore his mind and his body. It was a strange, foreign feeling. She had never had serious feelings for anyone other than Owen before. She thought that this desire for Calvin was merely a strange phase, something that would wave away like a cold. She was wrong.

She took it upon herself to visit him more often in the mines. She found herself curious to find out what he had stumbled across in the mines that day, what he's looking for in the future, and what he _needs_ to find. She always watched him in awe. It was the first time they really ever spent alone time together, as the two of them really only became friends through Owen. After that, there was one last time she came to visit him. While he was talking, some haze came over her as she just leaned in and kissed him. The moment froze, which drew Kathy into a panic. She worried that she had just ruined their friendship, because she was dating Owen after all. But Calvin moved himself closer to her, and kissed her back. Kathy was over the moon.

It was interesting the way it all unraveled, at least in her point of view. Considering she and Calvin only became friends through her boyfriend, the sudden forbidden attraction excited her. But her boyfriend and Calvin had been friends for a very long time. Owen, Calvin, and Luke were all best friends from when they were young. Kathy's striking personality freaked out some of the other girls. When she was younger, she did get along well with Luna but their friendship slowly dissipated, as they grew older. When Molly moved in, she took no interest to befriend her. It was Molly that always was approaching her, kindly giving her gifts and asking if she wanted to grab lunch or hang out by the ocean. It was strange for Kathy; she never had people _try_ and talk to her. When they really became close, Kathy had already been dating Owen for a bit, and she decided to bring them into the friendship. Thus, the Crew was born.

"I still want you," he said to her, his voice smooth but lined with lust.

Kathy couldn't help but grin at his tone. It was deep, and grew husky in their heated moments like this, something she could barely resist. In that moment she found herself pulling him against her, hungrily kissing him as her fingers trailed the seams in his tan button down. She began to unbutton it, her hands greedily exploring his chest. She felt him smile as they kissed, as he retreated his head back to look down at her.

"You want to do this right now?" he asked softly.

She smiled wide and giggled in response, as if wanting to do it right now was such a surprise to him. He mirrored her smile and chuckled as well, before picking her up and throwing her on the bed.

* * *

Later that day she walked back to the Brass Bar to get ready to work the shift with her dad. Tired from earlier, she took in as much air as she could and with all of her might pushed through the doors to prepare for a seven-hour shift. The place was just beginning to grow crowded, as Kathy walked to the bar and approached her father. He glanced up from cleaning the bar, and gave her a hearty grin.

"Hey sport," he said. Just as Kathy was about to say something back, he turned around a grabbed a full glass behind him. It was a wine glass filled with red wine. "Do me a favor and go to the kitchen and give this to Chase?"

Chase always had a drink at some point during the day, usually when being in the kitchen got too strenuous and he really needed some form of alcohol to wind him down. She smiled and took the glass from the bar and turned to head for the kitchen. She crossed the restaurant and pushed through the double doors to enter bright white lights reflecting off the white walls and the chrome pots and pans. She glanced around until she found Chase washing his hands at the far sink. She walked towards him, the clack of her shoes echoing throughout the already noisy kitchen. She assumed that he had heard her approach because just before she stopped in front of him, he turned to look at her.

"Here's your wine," Kathy held out the glass for him. He quickly dried his hands off on his apron and took it from her.

"Thanks."

She turned around. Just as she was about to walk away and get started on her job, she heard his voice call for her again.

"Hey Kathy?"

She whipped her head around, her long blonde hair whipping her in the face. She perked her eyebrows up and said, "Yeah?"

He smirked. "I heard what you said about Molly. How you think she likes me?"

She frowned. "She told you that? Ugh, of course she did, she tells you _everything._ "

"Yeah, well."

She got a little closer, giving him a positive smile. "I don't take it back though. I do think she likes you."

"You think she likes everyone in this town."

Appalled, she replied, " _Do not!_ "

Chase nodded at her. "Do too. You thought she liked Julius for almost all of Spring season."

She crossed her arms now in frustration. "They looked like they had a connection."

"They talked once, Kathy. And it was the one time you were there to see it."

"Well how am I supposed to know that?"

"By asking her?"

"Well _you_ don't need to ask. She just tells you things. Everything. I always have to pull stuff out of her but she just _tells_ you with ease. Is it wrong of me to think that she likes you _now?_ "

He paused. He stood there; dumbfounded it looked like, as the smirk on Kathy's face only grew wider. Her eyes widened with excitement as she said eagerly, "Oh my Goddess! You like Molly, don't you?"

"That's repulsive. She's practically a sister to me."

"No she's not, shut up! You so have a crush on Molly! It makes so much sense."

"This is childish."

"How long have you liked her for? Chase, this is so adorable. You and Molly would be _sooooo_ good together."

"Alright. Out of my kitchen."

"What?"

Chase set down his glass of wine and started to gently shove Kathy out of the kitchen. Elated and mildly frustrated, she chanted, "You can't escape your feelings for her! Never let them go!"

And as swiftly as she walked in, she found herself back in the dark setting of the restaurant area. With a sigh, she promptly made her way back to the bar with her dad, now filling up glasses with different mixes of alcohols and sodas.

"There you are!" he called to her. "You need to start waiting tables. There, Toby and Renee have been waiting for a bit now. Go take their order."

She nodded at her father before making her way over there. The two smiled sweetly as she approached, as she herself was dreading it. She hated taking orders, especially from people who were in a happy, perfect relationship. It only reminded her how terribly fucked up her own relationship was.

* * *

After a long night of waiting tables and hanging around the bar talking to her father as no one decided to (shockingly) grab a drink on a Wednesday night, she relaxed as her father was just cleaning up behind.

"How're we doing, dad?" she wondered.

"Money's still tight, but we're hanging in there. We really need something to pull people back in, though. Give them a reason to show up on a night of the week that no one comes." Kathy watched as her father examined the barren bar. "Like tonight."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Have you thought of anything yet?"

Kathy recalled back to the night before, when the Crew was all talking about their lives pre love discussion. She remembered hearing Molly say that Selena was looking for work, and that she could dance to potentially bring in people on slow days like the weekdays. Would that really work though? Kathy and Selena were never close, because frankly, Selena frightened her. She had a fiery attitude and mainly used it in spite, and it nerved her to the bone. Sure, Kathy could get sassy as well, but there was something about the way even Selena walked that sent a strange chill down her spine. She looked up at her dad and debated even bringing it up to him. She didn't want Selena to be in the same work environment as her, especially every night. She brushed it aside.

Only for it to very quickly re-enter her mind.

How could she be so selfish? This wasn't about her. This was never about her. This was about her father's business. If it were worth the risk, then she and her dad would take the fall. But she knew her dad was desperate for ideas, and was willing to try anything to keep the bar around. With a sigh, and a quick chug of her drink, she nodded and looked up to her dad with a fake grin.

"Yeah, Molly and I were able to stumble across something."

His eyes widened. "Really? Shoot!"

"Selena."

"Selena?"

"Yeah. Molly told me she's been looking for work lately. She's an amazing dancer." That was, indeed, a fact that Kathy could agree on. "She could wait on tables and then dance on some nights. Maybe it'll bring more people in on nights like this."

"I think that's a brilliant idea," Kathy turned around to see Chase walking out of the kitchen, his apron drooping over his shoulder. "I think that'd really add an interesting flare to the place."

"Get out of my restaurant, Chase," Kathy playfully snapped at him.

"I think that's a great idea too!" Hayden said, ignoring his daughter's comment. "She could dance on Mondays and Wednesdays, those are our slowest days. Every other day she could help around and wait tables with you!"

 _There go all of my tips._

Kathy couldn't help but glare at Chase, as she knew that he was helping encourage this. She and Chase were obviously nowhere near as close as he and Molly were, but they did have their occasional small talk considering they were in the same work environment. Plus, since Molly was one of her best friends and he was one of Molly's best friends, she knew that she at least had to be relatively nice to him. Fortunately they were able to create a great work environment between the two of them. And from past conversations, it has come up before about Kathy's small little fear of the belly dancer.

With that, Kathy decided to get up from the barstool. "Alright, I think I'm gonna go for a quick walk then head home."

The two nodded at her, as Chase then approached the bar as she heard him ask if he needed any help closing up. _Always trying to make me look bad,_ she thought to herself as she walked through the door.

Just as she was about to head on her way, she heard a soft tune playing in the near distance. A large smile spread on her face, when she quickly turned toward the Ocarina Inn and saw the fedora wearing beauty outside on the bench playing his guitar. When she approached him, he glanced up at her with that usual smirk that he gave her when he was trying to seduce her.

"There you are. I've been waiting for you."

"What are you doing out here?" she wondered.

"It's a beautiful night. And since I couldn't take you home last night, I was wondering if you'd want to come back with me tonight."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was he seriously suggesting that she spend the night with him? It couldn't be more obvious. Her walking in there with him, together, her leaving the next morning, _alone_ ; the equation just didn't add up or make any sort of sense to her. She felt her brain buzz with all sorts of thoughts, contradicting thoughts, thoughts arguing against each other. Finally, she decided to just ignore it all and go with whatever her heart wanted to do. She decided to follow her gut, to follow the emotions that struck through her veins like lightening. She breathed.

"Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

 **A/N: I hope those who are following are enjoying it so far... and those who are just looking at it hopefully are too! Please, if you don't already follow it, read my other fanfic Reflection! It's a Sunshine Islands fanfic and it's 24 chapters in!**

 **Also I love you. Even if you can't read this, and aren't reading this, I love you.**

 **I felt the need to make an unnecessary Author's Note as well as shoutout my own stories. I'm just very proud. I dunno. I'm rambling now. Love y'all.**


	4. Chase (1)

**CHASE**

Chase woke up the next day terribly unrested. After a gruesome day of cooking in that dreadfully hot kitchen, he was about to get up, get dressed, and do it all over again. With a roll of the eyes and a flick of the covers, he swung his legs around the side of his bed and used all of his energy to hoist himself up.

He spent quite awhile at the bar just talking to Hayden after Kathy decided to leave early. He wasn't sure what possessed her to go, especially since he and Hayden weren't necessarily "close." They had chats every now and then, as Chase did with everyone in the Brass Bar, solely due to the fact that he worked with them. So for the first time, he sat down and had a conversation with him and enjoyed himself. He ended up staying a lot longer than he initially planned; he even stayed to have a few drinks with him.

And that was why, this cloudy morning, Chase felt his eyes weigh him down, and his chest ache for rest. Nevertheless, he stood up, and got dressed.

Chase loved his job. He did. While his sluggish actions may not have necessarily proved it, there was nothing he loved more than cooking. It had always been his passion, ever since he was young. His father was a chef and his mother baked, so he constantly lived a life of both of his parents working furiously in the kitchen. It was a lifestyle he enjoyed; he loved the idea of blending all types of foods and sauces and spices to create something that magnifies flavors and explodes them. When he tried out for the job at the Brass Bar, there was no second-guessing that Yolanda had to make. Almost immediately, he was hired.

He packed up his things for the day and grabbed his keys. He walked out of his front door, closing it behind him and walking out. It was early—barely eight in the morning—and the sun was just starting to rise over the horizon. With a satisfied smile, Chase made his way through the Flute Fields to then enter Molly's farm area.

He glanced over to see the dedicated farmer and best friend hard at work. She was watering her crops, which were growing and flourishing. He long waited for her to glance over in his direction, because these "good mornings" were routine. Finally, as if on cue, she lifted herself up, turned her head in his direction, and waved with a cheery smile.

"Morning Chase!" she called down the way.

He smiled softer back to her, and gave her a smaller, more abrupt wave. "Morning. Will I be seeing you for lunch today?"

He was expecting the usual: a wide smile, and a head nod with closed eyes. It was rare for her not to stop by for lunch, especially since Chase worked especially hard on her meals. Molly could be relatively picky, he noted, and he wouldn't want to send her something of poor quality. That was the last thing Hayden needed was for his cooking to turn people away; everyone in the joint needed their jobs more than anything. It was the only way any of them knew how to keep money rolling in.

But to his dismay, she frowned and shook her head no. Puzzled, he stared back waiting for a proper reply. She said, "I made plans with Anissa today. She's having me over to have lunch with her family. Isn't that exciting?"

Chase would be wrong to say that he was thrilled. He looked forward to Molly's visits; it was a nice break in his long workday. She usually had some exciting things to talk about, whether it was some exciting achievement she completed on her farm or her silly crush on Luke. Sometimes she'd complain about Kathy, because Kathy was definitely the more out-going, energetic of the duo. Molly was quiet, sweet, and relatively reserved. She almost didn't fit in with her "Crew," and yet fit in perfectly. She was the perfect addition to keep that strange mix balanced. He figured that that was it, and that the other four realized it as well, whether it was a subconscious realization or not.

He lied and said, "Yeah, that's awesome. I'll see you later then?"

"Of course!" she cheered back.

She was always so happy.

With that, he continued along the path, walking to Harmonica Town. The walk was definitely something he enjoyed most when it came to his work. It was always so peaceful, at least, when it wasn't storming or snowing down on him. Today, it was cloudy with the sun trying to peek through every small little crevice each cloud made. It was strangely beautiful.

When Chase crossed over into Harmonica Town, it was delightfully quiet, which it normally was. Except for one alien action that occurred in front of him.

The Ocarina Inn doors opened. They didn't open all the way, just a bit, and a body slipped between the crack the wooden doors created. At this point, Chase had stopped in his tracks to watch the scene in front of him. He normally would've carried on, and he did, up until the moment when he realized who was sneaking their way out of the inn doors.

Kathy took two steps out the door, peeking in both directions when her eyes matched with Chase's. He stood there in a strange disbelief; where exactly was she coming from? Why was she leaving at this hour? And why did she look so terrified?

"Kathy?" he wondered, finally approaching her. "That's you, right?"

"Shit," she muttered, yet still loud enough for him to hear. "Yeah. Hi."

"What…are you…"

"I owed Colleen a favor. She asked me to come in early today to help clean up."

"What kind of favor _was_ this?"

"I…I can't talk about it. I told her I wouldn't."

Chase was now in a normal speaking range to her, confusion more than anything clouding his mind. He wanted to believe her story but he couldn't quite grasp it. Instead, he egged her on a bit more, hoping that maybe she'd fess up about something.

So he called her out. "Are those the same clothes as yesterday?"

She quickly glanced down at her attire, before looking back up at him. With a straight face, she said, "No."

"And is that the same makeup from last night?"

"Chase, quit it. It is not."

He sighed. He figured there was nothing else to do other than be brutally honest. Maybe she'd say something then. "Kathy, I honestly don't give a shit what's going on, but lying to my face is pretty fucked up."

She was startled by his sudden use of language. He cursed occasionally, except when he did it did roll in in floods. Disregarding her reaction, he urged her.

"Tell me what's going on."

Her face fell and she sighed. Her hair, which was normally pulled back into a neat ponytail, was messy and down. She ran her fingers through it, and stared up at the sky for a quick second with defeat in her eyes.

"Uuuuugh fuck fuck fuck. You can't say anything to _anyone_ alright?"

He nodded.

" _Especially_ Molly."

 _Damn._ "Alright."

"Yeah, I've been…messing around. With Calvin."

Granted, those were the words he was _expecting_ to hear slip out of her mouth, but knowing that this wasn't just imagined and that she actually said them was what surprised Chase. He always viewed Kathy and Owen as being a model couple. They were no Renee and Toby, but nevertheless, they had fun, they were comfortable, and they were most definitely into each other. So knowing that Kathy was being unfaithful took him for a ride of emotions. And it was barely eight in the morning.

"For…how long?"

"Too long," she replied, disappointment wavering over face. But suddenly, a small smile appeared. "But sometimes I say not long enough."

"Kathy!"

"Two seasons, alright? Two damn seasons."

 _Whoa._

"Look," she started, "I know I'm being wrong to Owen. You of all people don't need to tell me that I'm lying to everyone right now. So please, don't."

"They're best friends, Kat."

" _I knoooow._ If anything, Calvin should be getting some of the heat on that subject, don't you think?"

"Well, of course. It was more a statement than anything. I just never could've pictured you cheating on him."

Suddenly, she perked an eyebrow. "Really?"

He nodded. "Really."

"Well, fuck." She threw her arms in the air, rolling her eyes. "I figured that no one would be surprised. I've had my slutty days in the past so I figured everyone would just be like, 'Yeah, Kathy cheated, but is it that shocking?' But you have to come along and say this and make me feel even _worse_ about myself. Which I told you not to do, so, y'know, thanks."

"Were you really expecting people to find out?"

She sighed. "I had no clue what to expect. I played out every scenario in my head. Someone seeing us and blabbing to the whole island, Owen walking in on us, Owen overhearing me, Molly overhearing me… there's just so many ways that this secret could get out, y'know? So yeah, I prepared for the worst. Would I like it better if no one found out? Yeah, duh. But here you are, the first time I _ever_ decide to spend the night at his place and you friggen catch me sneaking out. What are you even doing awake at this hour?"

"I always go to work at this time."

" _This early?!_ "

He nodded.

"I didn't realize your shifts were that long."

"Yolanda and I are the only two running the kitchen. So yeah, we kind of have to keep it going. It's rough, but it pays. I also get to be in a kitchen all day doing what I love so there's nothing to hate."

"Yeah…I gotcha. Ugh, _shit._ I still can't believe you caught me. No one has yet."

Now he perked an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

She nodded, putting a hand on her hip. "Yeah, oddly enough. Two seasons and no one catches us, that's a pretty rad streak, right? Probably a record."

"I mean, I can't say that I know anyone else sneaking around the island."

She threw him a look, but he couldn't resist by throwing her a smile in response. Now that he knew, at least now he could pick on her about it. It _was_ blackmail. And while Chase was no Gill, maybe this could come to his advantage. It was Kathy after all, and she'll do whatever she can to save her ass.

"Ha ha, very funny. You're not going to tell Molly though, right? She's so good. She'd break the news to Owen for me if she could. Which she'd probably convince me to do."

"I mean, is that such a bad thing?"

"Right now, yes. This is my decision Chase, and I'm the only one facing the consequences."

That was false and he knew it, because now he was in on it. So if anyone else knew that he knew, people would find reasons to point fingers at him. The thought of that made him shudder. Overall, he figured, she was right. It was her fault. So if anyone was going to get the majority of the heat between the two, it was a fair ninety/ten. Maybe ninety-five/five.

"So you're not going to tell Molly, right?"

As much as Chase craved to tell Molly, as she always told him everything, this was a bit larger than a lot of things she and him gossiped about. This was personal for Kathy, something he wasn't even supposed to witness. And he did consider he and Kathy friends, at the most, definitely friendly at the least. So for her sake, since clearly she had it all figured out, he nodded.

"Yeah. Sure thing."

"Oh, _thank you thank you thank you!_ " she squealed, leaping to hug him.

Taken aback from the sudden affection, he tensed under her touch and she retreated to find him staring at her with wide eyes. She responded with a wider smile. "Seriously, you're the best."

"Alright, just go back home and wash up. Maybe put on some fresh clothes," he teased.

"Will do! Bye!" she squeaked, before running off.

Chase just shook his head, trying to soak in everything that had just happened. He certainly wasn't expecting his morning to start off that way. The last thing, _the very last thing_ , he expected to see was Kathy sneaking out of the inn after a night of fun activities with Calvin. _Calvin_. While the pairing did seem to somewhat fit, his mind had just comforted to the reality of her and Owen. They were always together, always acting like a couple, so the thought of her messing around with another guy, for half of a year nonetheless, shook him up. Trying his best to toss it aside, he continued down his path to the Brass Bar.

Upon entering, Hayden was setting the tables. He glanced up and smiled at the sight of Chase in the room.

"Chase! I have a question for you."

 _Oh great,_ he thought, _why is today starting off so strange?_

"Yeah, of course."

"Have you seen Kathy? She wasn't home when I got there. And I didn't see her this morning, so I was wondering if you had any idea of where she was."

 _Ironically I just saw her._

"Um…" he had to cover for her fast. He pretty much just promised her that he would. At least he indirectly did. "I know she slept over Molly's last night."

"Again?" he wondered. He shook his head, continuing to place the placemats on tables in front of him. "Those two girls, I swear."

"Ha. Yeah."

Chase didn't perform well under pressure. He wasn't good at lying; that's why people always took him as such a crude guy. He was blunt and to the point. He remembered once when Molly—before they were friends—looked him dead in the eyes and shouted, "You know what? You don't have a filter. You just say whatever the fuck comes to mind, not thinking of who you're hurting!" That was the first time he had ever heard her curse. There weren't many times after that where we had; Molly really didn't use foul language. He remembered that day clearly though, it was the first time in awhile where something somebody else said really made him reflect on himself. After that moment, he found himself becoming strangely nicer to the farmer and he even apologized to her. It was the strange start to a beautiful friendship he'd always say, and she'd usually just laugh at him.

Yolanda busted through the kitchen doors, her wrinkles frowning and her eyes targeted right on the young chef.

"You're late!" she barked, her voice echoing throughout the empty joint.

"Sorry Yolanda," Chase said almost robotically as he sauntered his way into the kitchen.

"Yeah yeah yeah, say sorry later when you're cleaning every dirty dish in this damn place!"

* * *

As Chase was working furiously in the kitchen later that day, Yolanda came up to him and said sweetly, "You have a friend sitting outside waiting for you."

His ears perked up as he turned around to look at her, except she had already walked away. Setting aside what he was doing in that moment, he cleaned off his hands and made his way into the restaurant. He looked around, hoping to find Molly. He half-expected her to say, "Surprise! I always come, silly, how could you think I wouldn't?" but he knew that that was most likely not the case. And his hope turned out to be nothing but a fantasy when he turned and found Gill sitting comfortably at the table he normally found Molly.

"Gill," he sighed into a smile, slipping past him and sitting down across from him.

"Look at this." Gill whipped out a stack of papers. Alarmed, Chase watched as he flipped through them in surprise. Why on earth was he doing this right here and now?

He finally turned to whatever page he wanted, somewhere in the upper 25th percentile of the stack, and turned it around to face Chase. He glanced down and saw the thin, fine print, and he wondered to himself if he even wanted to bother reading it. He then figured quickly, right before Gill went to speak, that he was just going to tell him what was written anyways. So he merely just stared at it, wondering how Gill could have possibly found the need in him to read through this.

"It says here— _RIGHT HERE_ —that Toby hasn't been paying _any_ of his bills. Do you realize this, Chase? Do you see what this means?"

Chase sighed. "What does this mean?"

"It means I smell something fishy. Something horribly, horribly fishy about this guy!"

"Ha-ha, very funny."

"My father and I have been letting this freeloader live on our island for free. _Free!_ I knew there was something up with him. No one could possibly be so happy and carefree all the time. I mean, for Goddess' sake all he does is fish. _Fish. All the time._ This is incredible. Finally, _something!_ "

"Gill, he still lives under Ozzie's name, I'm assuming. Did you ever bother to look under his name?"

Gill stared at him, and immediately began shuffling through his stack of papers furiously. With a satisfied smile, Chase leaned back and watched the mayor's son struggle at the other end of the table. After thirty seconds of rummaging and reading, Gill removed the papers in defeat, finally looking at Chase in front of him.

"Hi," he finally said.

Chase smiled, crossing his arms. "Hi to you too. So, is there anything else you wanted to show me? Or was that it, another plan to get Toby removed off the island?"

Gill shrugged. "I don't think I had anything else that was of importance."

Chase couldn't help but shake his head with a laugh. "What's your deal with him, anyways?"

"He's just… _too_ happy. And carefree. The world is not that simple. You need structure. He needs structure. He needs a mentor." Suddenly, Gill smiled. Chase recognized that smile. It was devious, and he was up to something. "I could take him under my wing! Teach him everything I know! Then, when I'm mayor, I could hire him to work in my office as he would've had proper training for years from no one better than the future mayor himself."

"You're off your nut."

"This is a brilliant plan."

"I really doubt Toby would comply."

"I'll approach him tomorrow, and we'll start Monday. Yes, _yes._ My first real assistant. Especially one who will be doing it for free."

Chase realized very quickly that Gill had quickly tuned him out. He watched as his friend, the criminal mastermind, came up with this devious plan in his head, as a devilish smirk spread across his cheeks. Suddenly, Chase's head snapped up at the entrance to see a small burst of orange energy break through the doors. His stomach dropped; the last thing he needed right now, other than evil mastermind Gill, was Maya.

"Hey guys!" she cheered as she happily plopped herself down next to Chase. "What're we talking about fellas?"

"Gill is planning on making Toby…his assistant…" Chase glanced over at her with a fake, sarcastic smile. She looked back at Gill, giving him a semi-reassuring smile.

"That's…exciting…!" she lied, before looking back at Chase and giving him a real grin. "What're you up to though?"

"Just getting a break and talking to this moron."

"Hey!" Gill snapped, finally out of his trance. "I heard that."

"Glad to know you're alert."

A strange silence fell over the group, before Hayden walked over to the table with large smiles. "Hey guys," he said, handing out some waters to the trio. "Chase, shouldn't you be in the kitchen?"

"I'm…on break," Chase smiled. He knew it wasn't a real break, but if Yolanda gave him the opportunity he wasn't going to oppose.

"Where's Molly? She's usually here at this time."

"She's eating lunch with Anissa and her family."

Hayden smiled. "Well isn't that nice." And with that, he walked away.

Chase brought his eyes back down to Gill and Maya, Gill giving him a suggestive smile. Chase, puzzled, threw him a look, which caused him to smile even wider in return. Disturbed and yet a little bit curious, Chase asked, "What?"

"So? Have you told Molly that you like her yet?"

Chase rolled his eyes. Yes, he liked Molly. When he and Molly first met, he couldn't' stand being around her. He especially couldn't stand it when she walked in with her "Crew," because all they did was shout and create a disturbance in the Brass Bar. But one day during lunch, she walked in and he didn't even see her there, causing him to spill someone's meal—like he could remember whose—all over her shoes. He feared that she'd get upset, especially due to the fact that he took so much pride in his food and now it was literally all over the ground and her feet. She took it well though, to his delighted surprise. And since then, he always found a soft spot for her. She would come into the bar more often, ordering the same dish that he covered her in, and they always got around to having small talk more, to then digging deeper into each other's personal lives. She wasn't as shallow as he made her out to be. She was genuine and sweet, but had a lot more depth than he initially realized. When he saw the more intimate, deeper parts of Molly, he suddenly found himself attracted. He hadn't been able to shake the feeling ever since. He's felt this way for her for almost a full year now, but the thought of telling her his feelings terrified him to the core.

"No, of course not."

"How come?"

"Because. I'm not about to ruin my friendship with her because of this…whatever it is. Besides, she doesn't like me."

"How are you so sure?"

"I just know." He wasn't about to spill that she liked Luke. Only he knew about that, anyways.

Maya decided to chime in. "Well I think it's for the better!"

 _Of course you do,_ Chase thought to himself. He was very aware of the crush Maya had on him. Maya was Yolanda's granddaughter, and ever since he got the job as the chef in her kitchen, she had a crush on him. It was until she tasted his cooking that immediately got her attached. Chase and Gill were great friends, and Maya ended up tagging along most of the time. Overall he didn't completely hate her company, just when she made her feelings for him obvious did he feel uncomfortable in his own skin. Sometimes, or maybe even all the time, he just wanted to leap out and watch his life from an outer body experience. And then maybe see what Molly was doing.

Gill knew about it too. That was why he willingly chose to ignore her comment. He did it quite often; Chase always found himself chuckling quietly to himself, even though Maya could very easily notice. "I think she needs to know. I mean, you've been feeling this way for so long."

"Yeah, and?"

"She might like you and she's just not showing it! You honestly never know."

You honestly never _do_ truly know. But there was one thing Chase was positive on, and that was that Molly had no feelings for him in return. And the reality of that always tore his heart.


	5. Owen (1)

**OWEN**

The weekend rolled in and the night fell as Owen patiently waited at the bar for a certain friend's arrival. He was sipping on a tall glass of beer. Kathy, oddly enough, was nowhere to be found at the Brass Bar tonight, but he wasn't going to make anything of it. If anything, it gave he and Luke some more privacy once the damned carpenter decided to show up. He was always late for things, Owen knew, so why he never told him an earlier time that way he could actually arrive _on_ time, baffled him. It would be too brilliant for him to actually go through with it.

He took another long sip as another long day of hard work was taking a toll on him. His muscles, while built and crafted beautifully, were sore from the heavy wielding he had to do today, some much more than most. Trying to ignore the strangely foreign feeling in his forearms, he took another glug.

He finally heard the door behind him open, when Owen swung around and saw Luke charge in with a wide smile.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said, sliding in the barstool next to him.

"No problem. What's up? What'd you need to tell me?"

"It's about Molly."

Owen grew nervous. All he thought was the worst things that could've possibly happened to her. Was she in an accident? Was she hurt, in danger? He stared at the carpenter with concern in his eyes, nearly gripping his glass for dear life waiting for him to continue.

"I almost kissed her."

A strong wave of relief covered Owen as those horrible thoughts escaped his mind. But suddenly, he was brought into the strange reality that he and Molly almost _kissed_. Luke was one to talk about the girls on the island, but he'd normally rank them on his hot or not list. Molly was generally an exception; we all viewed her as innocent, a gem, really. Sure, she made the hot or not list when she originally moved to the island (answer: Luke declared her hot) but eventually he called her things like "pretty" and "cute" and even as far as "beautiful." Those words never normally escaped out of Luke's loud mouth, as he was well known for his hook ups and hit-it-and-quit-its. So now, Owen couldn't help but form a grin as he asked, "Really? When?"

"Just a few days ago. It was when the three of us were all in the shop and you dipped early. We just got to talking and I don't really know how we got there, but…O, I was so close. I was right there."

"Why didn't you just _go_ for it?"

"My dad walked in. And I didn't want to give her just a kiss and then have her leave, y'know? I mean, Molly is one of our best friends. Holy crap, _she's one of our best friends!_ What am I _doing?_ "

"Hey. Luke. Ease." Owen set the boy back in the bar seat, as he nearly jumped to his feet. "Take it easy. Look, do you like Molly?"

Silence. Owen figured this couldn't be good. This silence was either him trying to come up with some bullshit excuse (even though the boy should've learned by now that his excuses don't run smooth by him, the two have been best friends for too long for it to be that easy) or because there were actual feelings, or lack of. He stared at his best friend, who had a nervous look to his eyes as he averted his gaze.

"Well?"

"I…I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

Luke's eyes finally met up with his. "I mean, I think she's amazing, obviously. But amazing in the way that we all find each other amazing. I mean there's a reason why we're the Crew, right? I'm just trying to figure out…ugh, shit."

"C'mon. Spit it out."

"I mean she's awesome! Seriously, don't get me wrong. And she's beautiful, gorgeous even. And she's sweet but not disturbingly sweet either. Yet, I don't know if she's the one."

"Does anyone ever really know if a girl is the one until they give that girl the chance?"

Luke snorted. "I'm almost positive you told me Kathy was 'the one' somewhere really, really early on in our friendship. I don't even think we got out of elementary yet."

Owen gave him a playful shove. "Yeah, okay."

"But really. I don't want to lead on Molly if this is wrong, you know?"

And he did understand where Luke was coming from. Not necessarily from experience, just from his understanding of the situation. He adored both Luke and Molly, for the obvious reasons. Luke had been his best friend forever basically; there wasn't a memory in his mind that he had where he knew Luke wasn't around to at least hear about it later. Luke was always in the picture. Molly, well, Molly moved to the islands and impacted everyone in different ways. She helped connect dots in himself that he didn't realize were disconnected. Her genuine personality tied along with her playful and innocent attitude made her fun and gave the island another tasteful flair to it. So when Luke mentioned the situation between the two of them, he couldn't lie and say it puzzled him a little bit. He never even thought about them hooking up. If anything, he thought that Molly would find her way to Calvin before she went to Luke. He didn't know why, it was just weird gut feelings. Maybe his gut was off.

From there, he figured the worst couldn't be the worst. So with a shrug and a smirk, Owen said, "You're attracted to her, right?"

"Duh."

"And you wanted to kiss her?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah…a lot, actually."

"Then I say it's worth giving a shot. If it fails, it fails. But at least you gave it a try."

"Hey, I mean, I'm not a relationship type of guy. But she is. As long as you think she'd be able to bounce back, I have no issue pursuing her."

 _Oh, crap,_ he internally kicked himself. _All this time he was making it seem like he was worried about his feelings, when he was really looking out for hers. Fuck._

At that point, Owen figured it was too late to say anything. He couldn't take the words from the air and stick them back in his mouth. So instead, he took another hard chug of his beer until the last of the foam collected at the bottom of the glass. Without a second to waste, Hayden was already on the other side refilling it.

Owen smiled. "I wish you all the luck."

Luke glanced up at him, and gave him that wide, cheery eyed smile back. "Thanks a lot, bud. You don't think it'll disturb the vibe of the group, right? Like I'm not fucking it up for the five of us, right?"

And with a lie, Owen shook his head and said, "Nah. You'll be fine."

* * *

It was early. The day had barely broken through and the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. With a puff of the chest, Owen put in his headphones, tucked his music player in his pocket, and began on his jog.

He didn't usually do this. But he figured there was no better time than any. Even though Winter was rapidly approaching, he figured he should at least get a few good jogs in before snow began to coat the island grounds. So until then, he braced the breezes that hugged his body as he pumped his arms and ran to the rhythm of the song.

He first made his way through the Garmon Mine District, before making his way through Harmonica Town. He figured he'd circle around, and then maybe try running on the beach. He knew it'd give him a better workout. He looked out into the horizon, over at the beautiful ocean, and smiled contently to himself. _I should wake up early more often,_ he decided, _the island is beautiful at this hour._

Right as he turned his head to continue creating his path, he slammed into another physical being in front of him. He, the larger of the two, still kept his ground, however, the other figure fell flat on their back on the stone.

"Holy—are you okay?" Owen wondered, before looking down to see whom it was.

On the ground, with a manic look on her face, lay Luna, one of the tailors. He didn't know Luna too well—he usually found her talking to Gill and Chase or her sister, Candace—but otherwise, she was never usually seen outside of the shop or around Harmonica Town. She usually had this rugged expression on her face that made her slightly unapproachable. The thought of that even humored him, considering how large and intimidating he could seem to some people. He hoped his smile made up for that.

"Am I _okay?_ " she asked furiously at him. That voice alone made him panic.

She leaned up, and glanced down at the backs of her arms. They were covered in scratches and were beginning to bleed. Her eyes widened at the sight.

"Do you see this? I'm bleeding!" she screeched at him.

 _Okay,_ he thought, _this isn't exactly what I wanted at this hour of the morning. Especially on a Saturday._

"Agh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Is there anything you want me to do?"

"Lift me up for Goddess' sake!"

Owen, nerve striking through him, quickly reached out for her and brought her to her feet with ease. A look of surprise even crossed her face, but it quickly shook away when she began glancing down at her bleeding arms again. Perplexed, he stood there in worry trying to figure out what exactly to do with her.

" _Do something!_ " she nearly screamed.

Tensing to the sound of her high-pitched tone, he quickly asked, "Uh… do you have bandages or something back at your place?"

"No, why would I?"

He now raised a brow at her, surprised. "I don't know, in case something like this happens?"

"Don't be smart with me! Take me to Jin's!"

"This is _way_ too minimal to bother Jin about at this hour. Here—I'll just take you back to my place. I have disinfectant and bandages. Sound good?"

She gave him a stink eye, before mumbling, "Only if you carry me."

" _Excuse me?_ "

"You heard me!" she said louder, seeming more confident in her request. "You pushed me down, so carry me!"

There was no easy way to get around this, he figured. He didn't want to find himself on Luna's bad side any more than he already was, so he complied. With a sigh, he turned around and bent down so that the pink-haired tailor could easily jump on his back. Once she did, he began making the trek towards his home back in the Garmon Mine District.

Once arriving his home, he opened the door with Luna still on his back. Chloe was still asleep, as Ramsey was probably out and about. He was always up early in the mornings. Owen brought her into the kitchen and sat her in a chair. He glanced at her for a second, while she stared up at him with her large, blue eyes. They were mystical, captivating even. They also scared him to death.

"Just…stay," he said, before darting for the medicine kit.

"I'm not a damn dog!" he heard her holler at him, and he just rolled his eyes.

He went into the bathroom and first dampened a cloth he had laying by the sink. He then finally opened up his medicine cabinet. He shuffled through pills and antibiotics that Ramsey had to take. There were sleep medicines, coughing medicines, before he finally found a tiny, bright red little bag filled with gauze, disinfectant, and bandages. He snatched it and made his way back as he braced for his interaction with Luna once more.

Upon stepping into the room, Luna's anger-filled face had calmed. She was just glancing around the room, looking as if she were admiring it, and to see her at more of an ease had a smile appear on Owen's face. It was nice not seeing her so hot headed for once. That was until she looked over at the doorway to see him staring at her. She furrowed her eyebrows again, those piercing eyes jabbing once more. He shuddered.

"What are you doing just _standing_ there? Come help me!"

"I'd really, really appreciate it," he began, as he walked over to Luna and bent down in front of her, "if you could please talk just a little quieter. It's still really early in the morning and Chloe is still asleep."

With a puff, she mumbled, "Fine" as she extended her arms out to the blacksmith who pulled out some gauze and a tiny bottle of the disinfectant.

"What were you doing out this early, anyways?" he wondered, as he dabbed some of it into the gauze.

She sighed into a shrug. "I don't get much time alone. Nobody is usually out in the mornings, so I just like to sit on the beach and have some time to myself. Sit in my own thoughts."

The response oddly delighted Owen. He didn't realize she had a sensitive side to her like that. He was intrigued.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the second I step outside I'm usually bombarded by Gill. It's like he _waits_ outside my door or something. At least, when he's not talking to Chase." She snickered. "And then Candace is always inside the shop. Granted, she likes to keep to herself even more than I do but it's nice actually being… alone. Actually alone."

Hearing her talk normally actually soothed him. It was refreshing seeing this side of her for the first time. He always saw her as someone who was just bratty and got her way, and liked to make everyone else feel below her. It didn't necessarily sicken Owen, but it definitely didn't make the girl her favorite on Castanet. There were definitely others on the island who have gotten under his skin even further. However, that mood, that wavering emotion that clouded his mind, was quickly casted away when her shrill tone filled the room yet again.

"What are you doing just sitting there? Clean me up!"

He breathed a smile. _There it is._ He quickly picked up the wet cloth and wiped down the blood that was collecting on her skin. He then fingered the disinfectant-covered gauze and looked her straight in the eyes.

"This might sting a bit, okay?" he said warily.

Without second thought, she immediately searched for his free hand and squeezed it. He stared at her for a quick second, while she did the same in return.

She said, "I'm…I'm just preparing myself. I don't like pain."

Owen let out a hefty laugh, before biting back a larger smile. He finally placed the gauze on her skin, and she did jolt and squeezed his hand even tighter. He looked up to see her eyes squeezed shut and her teeth clenched together. He quickly swiped through the first arm. He then got another prepared piece of gauze before cleaning through the other arm.

"Alright, worst part's over," he said, throwing the dirty gauze to the side.

She let go of his hand and opened her eyes, letting out a huge breath as if she had been holding it in the entire time. Owen then turned to his side and rummaged through the kit once more, to find a box of bandages. He pulled out all of the large ones he could find; each scrape needed at least two of the large ones to cover the cuts in their entirety. He placed them each on, and finally flattened them out to complete it.

"There. All set," he said, before standing up.

She sat in the chair and sighed with a strange smile on her face. She finally rose from her seat, and looked up to him. He just now realized how much he towered over her; she was fairly short, especially next to him. Just by looking at her he could tell that she was just a few inches below Kathy. Her glaring expression was gone, and it was replaced with a rather reassuring look. This relaxed Owen, it even calmed him; he really meant it when he said that Luna intimidated him.

"Um. Thanks," she finally said. "Here. I'll help you clean."

Owen watched as she bent over and picked up the dirty pieces of gauze, the damp cloth, and even the scraps of the bandage. She threw out everything that needed to be thrown out, and she then put the damp cloth underneath the sink to rinse it of the blood and dirtiness. After, she wrung it out, and glanced over behind him.

"Where should I put this?"

Stunned at what he just witnessed, he said, "Uh…just leave it in the sink. That's fine."

She shrugged her shoulders and threw it back in, before walking back up to him. He could tell that she noticed the expression on her face because she let out a small laugh. Seeing that smile was alien; Owen liked it. It was nice knowing that maybe, maybe after all, she wasn't too bad. And she wasn't as bratty as she made herself out to be.

"Why so surprised?"

"I, uh—I'm not surprised! I…I just—"

"Drop it," she said with a small smile. "I'm not all bad, I promise."

"No it's just…" Owen couldn't find the sentence he was trying to garble out of his mouth. Instead, some other gibberish escaped instead. "You just intimidate me is all."

Luna now let out a hearty laugh. He had never seen her laugh like that, and he actually enjoyed it. Luna? Happy? Like this? It was a sight that no one ever saw coming, and that was for damn sure.

" _I_ intimidate _you?_ " she nearly bellowed before poking one of his biceps. "Have you seen your own arms?"

Owen, a wave of cockiness consuming him, immediately flexed for her. She rolled her eyes, and that only amused him further. Once he was finished, he put his hands on his hips, unsure of what to do. After all, Luna was still in his house. And by the looks of this, his run seemed to have ended at that.

"So?" Luna looked at him.

Owen raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to walk me back, or what?"

* * *

Later that day, Owen was in the same kitchen with Kathy as they tried to prepare their own meal for a date in. However, whatever Kathy had working at the stove had suddenly caught fire, as she quickly pushed it back and Owen came running over with a fire extinguisher ready. However, once Kathy took it off the lit fire, the fire within the pan seemed to have decreased, only to reveal burnt food. The two sighed, the fear that filled the room dissipating.

"Shit, we should've just gotten Chase to cater our date," Owen teased.

"Shut _up_ ," she pushed him with a grin. "I didn't realize I sucked this bad, otherwise I would've just said let's go out to eat somewhere. Or maybe ordered something in."

"I mean…" Owen eyed her with a smile.

She frowned. " _No._ We started this battle, we're going to finish it!"

Owen smiled at her determination. He always loved that about her. Unable to contain it any longer, he hugged her from behind and attacked the side of her face in loving kisses. She giggled at his actions. He craved to hear her laugh; he absolutely loved it. It was one of the many, many things Owen loved about Kathy before they even started dating. He had always loved Kathy, since they were very young, and like Luke had so kindly reminded him at the bar, he knew Kathy was the one since he was nine years old. It was a regular day at school, where they were all just playing outside. He and Luke were messing around, throwing dirt at each other and climbing on the monkey bars, before Luke pointed out to him that he saw Kathy getting picked on by Gill and Luna. He watched as tears started to form in her eyes. Owen had found her to be really pretty, even as a young child, so he came to her rescue. He told the two of them to back off of her, and when they finally did, Kathy gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek as thanks. She then asked if he wanted to play with her, and he did, and had so much fun, he remembered. Since then, Owen knew he wanted to be with Kathy. And he did whatever he could to win her over. It only took until the two were older did that dream finally come true.

Kathy loved hearing that story. She loved knowing how big of an impact she had on him, especially since Gill and Luna always were pros at tearing down her self-esteem at such a young age. They didn't do so anymore considering they were all finally mature, but at so young no one knew any better. All Kathy knew was that the two of them didn't make her feel good about herself, and she figured them to be toxic people. Kathy doesn't mind them now much anymore, but overall the sight of them makes her uneasy and even a little bit angry. Owen knew all of this, and she just couldn't help feeling that way. He knew she wouldn't be thrilled to know that Luna was in this kitchen roughly twelve hours earlier.

"So," she started, "do…you have any microwavable food?"

Owen gave out a large laugh. "You're ridiculous, did you know that?"

"Is that a yes, then?"

He sighed, giving her another kiss on the cheek. "We have some pizza in the fridge, we could heat that up."

" _Can we?_ " she asked excitedly. She was just too cute.

"On one condition."

She turned to face him now, crossing her arms. However, while her actions showed frustration, the smirk on her face showed how playful she was being with him. He couldn't handle how adorable she was being. "And what's that?"

He tapped his lips gently. "You give me one kiss, right here."

She smiled, and rose on her tiptoes to give him a passionate kiss on the lips. He craved for her touch, as he wrapped his large hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him, feeling her hands grip at the front of his shirt. She played with the hem of the neckline and he so badly just wanted to rip off her clothes and get her to her skin. But now was not the time. Not with Chloe right upstairs…at least with Chloe right upstairs, and awake. At the very least.

"I love you," he breathed after the kiss broke off.

With a smile, she said, "I love you too, ya' big dork."


	6. Luke (1)

**LUKE**

It was time for Luke's favorite part of the day: the part where he goes and bothers Gill.

He _lived_ for these moments, because there was nothing he loved more than watching the little mayor squirm. It felt like fuel, kept him going through each day. Now he didn't do it all the time, as that would take the fun out of it, but he's been on his case for now four days straight and he's not quite done bothering him. He smiled as he made his way up to the Town Hall.

He walked through the large doors and a bell rung above him. There was no one currently working the front desk.

"Be there in a second!" Luke heard his faint voice in the back call. He grinned devilishly to himself, ready to make his own day.

Gill appeared in vision, seeming to be in a hurry. It was only until the two locked eyes did he stop in his tracks and gave him a look of frustration and nevertheless annoyance.

"Go away, Luke," Gill groaned, turning back around.

"Wait!" he called after him, leaning over the counter. "This is _serious!_ "

The blonde mini mayor glared over his shoulder at him. Luke's eyes were shining and excited, while Gill's normally glowing blue eyes were dull at the sight of the boy in front of him. He groaned even louder now, as he sluggishly made his way to the counter, eye to eye with the carpenter.

"Please, humor me."

Luke's smile only grew wider. "I actually had an interest in purchasing a vacation house."

Suddenly, an eyebrow rose on Gill. It seemed that Luke's comment had peaked his interest. Clearly amused, Gill said, "Really?"

Luke nodded. "Seriously! My dad and I were looking at it for something to get away from Bo."

His eyes fell. "Seriously, Luke."

Luke feigned a laugh in response. "Ha-ha, yeah I'm only playing. We love Bo. Really. But that's not the actual reason I'm looking to get a vacation house."

"Well? Tell me then. I hate when you beat around the bush."

"You hate when I do a lot of things."

"Luke, _please._ "

"Alright, alright! Well I wanted to get it for this girl that I'm hardcore bangin' right now." If only Luke actually spoke like that. He could barely take himself seriously at the moment.

Clearly not amused by his comment, Gill continued on. "Are you going to be paying upfront?"

"Gill, like, we've been really going at it. I think I might love her."

"That's nice."

Luke narrowed his eyes on him now. He wasn't biting. He sighed. "Is upfront the only option that I have? Do I have to pay in cash?"

"No, and yes. You must pay in cash."

He now rolled his eyes sarcastically, slapping his forehead. "Damn it! Luna is going to be _pissed_. I'm now going to have to borrow money from my dad—or her—"

"I'm sorry," Gill finally cut him off, "did you say Luna?"

"Yeah, we're _toootally_ a thing now."

"I highly doubt that."

"It's true! Our couple name would be Lu… _Oh my Goddess_ Gill do you realize that our couple name would just be one of our names because both of our names start with 'Lu'?"

Gill frowned at him.

"We could be either Luke _or_ Luna!"

"Get out of here, Luke. And stop wasting my time," he grumbled.

Luke now fake frowned at him, crossing his arms immaturely. "Gill! I'm seriously buying a vacation house right now!"

"And I'm seriously telling you to get out of my sight. _Go_."

Frustrated yet feeling overall accomplished, Luke gave him a quick smirk and turned around to make his way out the door. Once it closed behind him, and he was back in the fresh air, he couldn't help but belt out a laugh. Ever since he was young he loved bothering Gill. It probably just had to do with the fact that they were polar opposites from one another; Gill took himself and the world so seriously while Luke just looked to have fun. There was nothing he craved more out of him than to get his frustrated reactions of having to put up with him. He could only imagine how much the mayor's son probably wanted to have him by the throat. He shrugged it off.

However, ever since it happened, all Luke's mind has been buzzing about was Molly. Molly, Molly, Molly. He never found himself thinking about the farmer girl so much before. Sure, maybe, when she first moved in, but he didn't know what he was thinking now. Was this attraction? Lust? Or was it more pure than that? Luke's brain fizzed as he overworked his mind, bruised from thinking of her.

Consumed in his thoughts, he bumped into Calvin and Kathy walking down the path right outside of the Town Hall.

"Oh!" Kathy exclaimed. "L-Luke!"

"That's the name!" he said with a grin. "What's up, friends?"

"Kathy and I were just…taking a stroll," Calvin said smoothly.

Luke nodded, a grin on his face. "Nice, nice. So where's Owen at?"

They both shook their heads. "I dunno," Kathy responded.

"Hm..."

"Hey!" she said excitedly. "I'm off work again tonight! Why don't we gather the Crew and get some drinks?"

"Now _that's_ a plan!" Luke said. "Yes!"

"Alright, I'll definitely let Owen know when I see him," Kathy smiled.

"Then I'll try and find Molly and let her know," Luke replied. He was so elated. Any reason he could find to drink, especially with his best friends, he'd take. After all, what're friends without having the comfort of a beer with you? Wait, that didn't sound quite right in his head…

Before he realized, Kathy and Calvin gave him a curt nod each and smiled on their happy way. He continued on his path ahead, trying his best to get Molly out of his mind as he approached her farm to talk to her about tonight. Well, he discovered fairly quickly it was pretty hard to cleanse your mind of someone that you were preparing to see in a few minutes. Nevertheless, the carpenter put his pretty little head through the trauma.

He didn't know what to think of Molly. Every time his mind explored that region it just ended with him in a dazed confusion. He certainly didn't want to take advantage of her; no, while that may have been easier with some of the other women he was involved with, Molly was too fragile, to honest. She was innocent, and while that part intrigued Luke, he also didn't want to destroy that part of her, either. Maybe this was a bad idea.

But when he approached her farm and he saw her standing outside tending to her cows, he couldn't help but wind himself back into the thought that this was in fact a good idea. After all, she _was_ going to kiss him, too.

"Molly!" he blurted, waving a hand in the air.

He watched her turn around, and beam a smile at him in return. He then found himself walking up the path right to her farm and to the pasture. She stood there, hands on her hips, beads of sweat dripping from her temples, but a warm grin still glowing from her face. She was a natural beauty.

"How's the farm?" he wondered, glancing around at all of the grazing animals.

She nodded a few times, before saying, "Good, good! No problems just yet."

"So, what're your plans for tonight?"

She perked an eyebrow up at him. "I don't know; I'm assuming you're going to tell me, though?"

Luke's grin exploded wide, and he said, "We're hitting the bars again tonight!"

Now both eyebrows were up. "Kathy got off work?"

"Yeah!"

Her eyes widened for a quick second before she said, "Wow, I'm not too sure I can handle this much alcohol in a week."

Playfully, he tapped her shoulder. "Oh come on, you can handle it. Plus, I'm really looking forward to seeing you tonight."

He saw a quick blush cross her cheeks, and he couldn't even help but smile. She could just be too cute. He didn't even know what he wanted from her anymore, but he knew he wanted _something._

* * *

"Owen, leave me alone."

"Not until you _pick a damn bandana._ "

"O, you don't understand! This is an extremely important decision."

" _We're getting drinks at the bar—just pick one!"_

Frustrated, Luke walked out of his bedroom with the bandana that he had on his head and stared at the blacksmith with anger.

"You make me mad."

"You take longer than Kathy to pick out an outfit. And she's usually trying to figure out what shirt to wear. You stress over an accessory."

"It's not _just_ an accessory, it _defines_ me!"

Owen couldn't resist laughing. He shook his head and walked past Luke towards the door. "You're such a baby. C'mon, they have to be waiting for us down there."

The two finally started down the path, side by side, nearing the Brass Bar, which was in sight. And yet, for some reason, nerves struck through him like lightening. Why was he so nervous? He tried to shake the feelings but for some reason failed to do so. He didn't realize until he saw her sitting down at the table that his mind was clouded with the idea of Molly.

"Hey guys!" Owen greeted, bringing Luke out of his trance.

"Hey!" Molly smiled. She was sitting next to Kathy, this time Calvin across from her. Owen and Luke discovered their fate of splitting up, so Luke sat in front of Molly while Owen sat at the head, in between Calvin and Kathy.

"So, do you even _work_ anymore?" Luke eyed her with a grin, over at Kathy.

"Shut up, Fluke," she spit. "Actually, it's because…"

"Hello, welcome to the Brass Bar. Can I interest any of you to the drink menu?"

We all glanced up to see the tanned skin, redheaded beauty beside me. She stood there with a smirk, holding a few menus under her arm and glaring down between the five of us.

 _Was Selena always this beautiful?_

"Holy crap!" Owen exclaimed. "You work here now!"

"That I do," she simply nodded. "Finally gives me a reason to get off Toucan Island and away from my parents."

"But I mean," Luke tried to counter, "it's Toucan Island! What could be so bad about that?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't get me started. So, do you guys want drinks or what?"

" _Polite, Selena!_ " we heard Hayden call from the back.

She rolled her eyes yet again, this time plastering a fake smile along with it. "Would you guys like any drinks?"

"Just tell Hayden our usual," Luke smirked up to her playfully, "he'll understand."

"He better," she sneered over him, "otherwise I'm in huge trouble."

With that, she tightened her grip on the menus and trudged back to the bar. The boys couldn't help but contain their snickers while Molly and Kathy were clearly was not amused by their picking on the new waitress.

"Guys, don't be so hard on her," Kathy glared between them.

Now Calvin was one to perk an eyebrow. "I thought you were afraid of her?"

She sighed. "Well I mean, now that we're working together I have to be nice. Like how I have to be nice to Chase, for the sake of Molly."

Now Molly glared at the blonde. "Thanks."

Chase. Luke couldn't help but scrunch his nose at the name. It was funny, actually, he really didn't have any real bad blood with him. He just didn't like how close he was with Molly. Call him overprotective, but Chase's sarcasm and lack of filter did cause her to cry a few times, and Luke unfortunately always saw the aftermath of Chase's actions. He didn't hate the guy himself, he just didn't really like the way he treated Molly…before they became friends, of course. He wasn't sure what drove them to actually be friendly with each other, but that was way out of his reach. He had nothing to do with the chef, anyways.

The night went on the Crew dove into their usual conversations. Kathy picked on Molly again, while she just continuously denied her. He couldn't help but expose a small smirk, knowing that not long ago he had Molly to himself—almost. He wanted to get her alone again. He _needed_ to. For some reason, he craved to feel her lips on his. It could've been lust, or just a mere crush, he wasn't sure; what he did know was that he wanted her alone.

He needed to do it tonight.

So as the night tapered off and the Crew was tipsy and happy, it was unanimous amongst the group that it was time to part ways. They all laughed one last time as they all rose from their seats, making their way towards the exit.

They all stood in a huddle on the other side of the Brass Bar entrance, as Kathy and Owen waved the three of them, making their way up to the Garmon Mines. Calvin then tipped his hat to the lone two and began his stroll back towards the inn. That only left Luke and Molly under the glow of the moon.

Luke cleared his throat. "Do you want me to walk you back?"

She brought her eyes to meet his, a look of innocence sweeping over her face. "Really? You don't mind?"

"Nah, of course not!" he said nonchalantly. "I'd rather you get home safe then have to worry about it all night."

She gave off a faint giggle. "Alright."

The two began up the path and back over to her farm. It wasn't a very far walk—considering she owned an entire portion of the island to herself—so the two kept a fairly silent tone. They briefly talked about how the nights were beginning to get colder as Winter was quickly approaching, but how beautiful the moon looked in this season. It only looked this good in the fall, as it was the season that brought the harvest moon.

The duo approached her front doorstep, as they both awkwardly gazed at each other with just the glow of the moon. He couldn't resist wanting to kiss her right then and there, but he wanted to do it when the moment felt right for the both of them. He was afraid of rejection, and the last thing he wanted was for Molly to push him away.

"Thanks for walking me back," she said softly, a sincere smile appearing on her lips. "It really means a lot."

"Of course!" he replied, throwing wider smile in response.

"Do you…uh…" Molly was fumbling over her own words.

Luke couldn't hold back the fact that his face was growing warm and his heart beat just a bit faster.

"…erm, wanna come inside? For maybe some coffee, or some hot chocolate?" she wondered kindly.

He didn't hesitate to nod, keeping that wide grin smack across his cheeks. "I'd love to."

Molly fingered the keys delicately, nervously unlocking the doors to her house. She opened the door slowly, glancing back up at the carpenter with a genuine grin, before flicking on the lights to her relatively large, vacant home. There were some clothes tossed around and some dirty dishes that lay next to the sink, but otherwise he noticed that she kept the house in order. However, the house just seemed too big for one person to live in it by himself or herself all the time. He wondered if she ever got lonely.

"So, what would you like, coffee? Hot chocolate?" she wondered, frantically going through her cabinets.

Luke couldn't help but breathe a smile as he watched her. Smoothly, he said, "Molly."

"Maybe tea?"

"Molly."

She finally stopped, and turned around to face him. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes were wide and confused. Luke, finally, felt calm, being with her in here. He didn't even have to say anything to the farmer; like magnets, she just approached him as he stood in the middle of the open floor. She was now looking up at him, as he was a decent height over the girl, and he just smiled down at her genuinely.

"You look beautiful tonight," he whispered, tucking a lock of her chestnut hair behind her ear.

She just bit back a smile and continued looking up at him. And with that, he took that as an invitation.

He rested his hand on the side of her face, and gripped her forearm with his other hand, while bringing lips down to meet hers. It was slow, and passionate, the way he held her, the way their lips moved in sync, and the way he was happy to be holding her like this for the first time. Molly threw her arms around his neck now, suddenly feeling the intensity rise and his hands shift from their assigned positions now to around her waist. He couldn't help but pull her hips closer to his, now just wanted to feel every inch of her body attached to his own. A wave of emotions swamping over him, he found himself in a daze as he was now pulling her and hungrily kissing her. The slow passion had gone out the window, as now the farmer and the carpenter were moving heatedly, soon finding themselves on the comfort of Molly's bed.


	7. Molly (2)

**MOLLY**

She panicked.

The next morning Molly found herself sitting in her bed for hours, wondering what had happened the night before. She was feeling lightheaded and happy from the drinks they had at the bars, but the buzz wasn't enough to clear her mind entirely. She knew what she was doing, she knew what was happening, and she knew she didn't want to do it.

The second she told Luke she wanted to stop, he did. Other than his shirt, no other clothes were shed that night. Molly, pure and innocent as she was, did not want her first time to be like that. She wanted to be in love.

And she knew she didn't love Luke. Of course she had this great crush on him, but she knew she couldn't call it love. They had never experienced each other in a more than friendly setting, so Molly was definitely not the one to jump the gun when throwing around the word love.

Fortunately, Luke understood. He was generous and quickly dressed his torso as Molly apologized thoroughly. But he was okay, and he wanted to make sure she was okay, too. He told her that he would never do anything with her that she was not comfortable with. He kissed her goodbye, and she was able to at least fall asleep with that lingering on her lips.

But this morning, she just thought about what had happened the previous night. She thought about the immense amount of emotion she felt with him, tangled up in him, alcohol buzzing through her head and blood. She was happy. She liked being in his arms; she liked having her lips on his. It felt right to her.

She wanted to talk to Chase about it more than anything. She always got frustrated having to walk all the way over to town and get him off the job to get him to talk. She wished he were available more often during the day; she just really loved talking to him.

She suddenly didn't care anymore. She couldn't move from her bed, she was just too in shock and was feeling a wave of sickness. She couldn't tell if it was because of what happened last night with Luke or just from the alcohol, or even just her own mind playing games, but she found zero desire to leave her bed. She reached over and grabbed the phone on the nightstand, and started dialing the number for the Brass Bar.

It rang a few times, and then Hayden picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Hayden, it's Molly. I was—"

"Hey Molly!"

She breathed a smile. "Hi. I was wondering if I could possibly speak to Chase? I know he's working but—"

"Yeah of course! Hopefully Yolanda won't rip my head off but it shouldn't be a problem. Hold on."

She snickered to herself. She heard shuffling on the other end, some voices speaking in the background, and then some more shuffling. Finally, Molly heard Chase's voice.

"Um, Molly?"

"Look I know it's like not even ten in the morning but do you think you can make me a plate of spaghetti and bring it over? I know you're working but are you busy? I just really need to talk."

"Is everything okay? Are you sick, hurt?" he asked nervously.

"Maybe a little sick. It could be in my head but… I'm sorry, is there any way you could get off work and just hang out with me for a bit here?"

"Yeah, I'll ask Yolanda now. Hold on."

Molly waited patiently yet again, her eyes searching the room. It didn't take very long that she heard his voice on the other line again.

"She said it's fine. I'll make you some spaghetti and I'll bring it over. I'll be there soon. Hang tight, okay?"

She broke a grin. "Thanks. I'll unlock the door for you. You're the best."

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. See you in a few."

With that, he hung up. Molly sluggishly made her way out of the bed and walked over to the front door to unlock it for the chef. She immediately fell right back into the covers, as the bed consumed her and she absorbed it. She cradled herself in the comforters, thinking back to yesterday, falling in and out of a strange tiredness.

It didn't even take him more than twenty minutes to arrive. Molly looked up to hear the door opening and closing, to then find Chase making his way through the floor holding a container filled with the requested food. She couldn't help but crack a smile at him, as she rolled herself over and sat herself up to look at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately, placing the spaghetti to the side and feeling her forehead. "Hm, you're not warm…"

"Luke kissed me."

Chase now perked an eyebrow at her, now making himself comfortable on the bed. He was leaned back against the wall, as Molly was sitting up, now crisscross and bundled up in the comforter. It took him a few minutes to say anything, but she watched the contours in his face change and his eyes go from wide to soft yet again.

"Wow, um…how'd you take that?"

She smirked slightly. "Obviously well," she breathed. "But I think he wanted to have sex with me."

"What?" Chase nearly jumped in his spot, concern evident in his face. "You didn't…did you?"

"No!" she was quick to defend. "No. Of course not. I've told you before that I want to do it with someone that I love for the first time. You know that."

"Yeah, I know." Chase snickered. "Sometimes I forget that you're still a virgin."

She glared at him now, but her lips still curved to a smile. "Is something _wrong_ with that?"

He immediately realized the position he put himself in. His eyes widened for the second time and he said quickly, "No! Absolutely nothing wrong with that! I…I admire it a lot, actually. Sometimes I wish I 'd waited for someone I really cared about. Or loved."

She began to playfully kick him while her feet were still under the covers. A playful smile crossed her lips as she said, "You still need to tell me whom you did it with! I'm so curious!"

"Ha, that'll be the day. I'm taking that one to the grave."

"I won't let you. You'll spill one of these days."

He chuckled. "We'll see."

She stuck her tongue out at her best friend. She always enjoyed Chase's company. She reached over and grabbed her tray of spaghetti, accompanied with a plastic fork, as she began scooping it into her mouth. Delicious as always, she knew, so she hummed in delight.

"Amazing, of course," she looked at him, sauce dripping from the corners of her mouth.

Chase snatched a napkin and quickly swiped it clean. He smiled at her sincerely and said, "Always gotta make it the best for my best customer."

She threw him a cheesy smile, and finished her dish. Chase took a few here in there, sharing some simple conversation in between. It was very easy for the two of them to be comfortable with each other. While Chase could throw a cold demeanor most of the time, Molly noticed how easily Chase had warmed up to her. She loved it. She loved knowing that he wasn't afraid to show his emotions, to be kind and gentle with her when he needed to be. It took some time, of course, but all of a sudden it just became what their friendship was in that moment. Their playful antics and easy relationship made Molly feel whole inside. She was grateful for Chase, and couldn't imagine Castanet without him. Especially when he took off work to share a plate of spaghetti with her at ten in the morning.

Suddenly, he sighed. Molly looked up. "Alright, tell me more about the Luke thing. Where is this going?"

Molly couldn't help but giggle childishly. "I'm not too sure myself," she admitted. "I have a feeling we're going to see each other soon. I mean, he was really, really good about not continuing further when I didn't want to. He seemed really embarrassed that he even tried to, y'know? He's a genuine guy."

Molly loved that she was able to share her love life with someone. Granted, she didn't feel comfortable sharing her secret encounters with Luke with anyone else. Plus, she didn't think anybody else knew about it, either. She only told Chase about these things because for some reason, she just found him to be the best ear. He knew how men worked and he sincerely listened. He didn't make any crude jokes; he genuinely took everything Molly had to offer and gave back whatever she needed to hear in return. He was the best friend she needed.

"You really need someone like that," Chase finally said. "Someone genuine. How does it feel, finally putting yourself out there in the dating world?"

Molly shrugged. "Really strange. I mean it just kind of happened. But still strange."

Chase nodded. "Understandably so. I mean, you've had like what, one? Two boyfriends in your life?"

Molly gave him a firm kick to the thigh. "Shut up."

"It's not a bad thing!" Chase retaliated yet again. He then mumbled, "But I'm just saying."

"Well then who have _you_ dated, hm?" Molly crossed her arms and threw the chef a glare. "And if you tell me this person, is it the same person you lost your virginity to?"

He rolled his eyes. "Alright, this is the most you're going to know about this. I've dated one girl here on Castanet. It didn't work out too great, we only dated for about a season and then it ended. And no, it's not the same girl I lost my virginity to."

"Oh shit," Molly's eyes widened like saucers.

"No judgments!" he pointed a finger at her. "Okay?"

She nodded her head frantically. She just wanted to know.

He exhaled. "Alright." A few seconds had passed and he was staring down in his lap, before he finally came clean and said, "I dated Renee."

Molly, excitement surging through her, began throwing her arms down on the bed. He started laughing at her obvious enthusiasm. In a squeaky voice, Molly squealed, " _No way!_ "

"It didn't work out though so don't get excited!" Chase tried to calm her down. She settled. "Well obviously it didn't work out. She's with Toby now."

"How did this happen?!"

He shrugged, and then sighed. "Well, we grew up living right next to each other. And Flute Fields is so far from everything else—far from town, far from the mines, and then your huge plot of land that was barren forever really separated us. So we got to know each other pretty easily seeing one another so often back in our neck of the woods. And then we tried dating, but it just didn't work out between us. She's meant to be with Toby."

Molly, still overwhelmed, dug her fingers through her brown locks. "I still can't believe it…!"

He puffed a laugh. "Yeah, I know. Hard to believe."

Molly tried to imagine the idea of Chase and Renee being a couple. It seemed like it could work; yet, it didn't entirely shock her that it failed. He could be so cold and she was so gentle. While Molly didn't know how it ended—it obviously occurred before she moved in—she could definitely understand why. Molly couldn't help, however, feeling a strange tingle in her stomach as she thought of the idea of Chase being romantically involved. Confused and afraid, she shoved the feeling aside.

" _So!_ " the farmer started, using her newfound energy to jump out of bed. "You're off work, I'm feeling better, let's do something today!"

Chase glared at the girl in front of him, laughing but also very perplexed. "Okay, like _what?_ "

She shrugged. "Anything. But first, you're going to help me handle my farm. Because…. I haven't exactly done that yet."

" _Molly!_ "

"C'mon, slowpoke!" she squeaked, reaching over for his hands and tugging with all of her might to get him to his feet. "You said you'd hang out with me so you have to help me too!"

"Um, I said I'd bring you spaghetti and talk. I didn't agree to this all day thing."

She glared up at him, noticing his curly, strawberry blonde locks falling in front of his amethyst orbs. She threw him a puppy dog look, batting her eyes sadly, and said, "You don't want to hang out with me?"

She's done this to him before. And each time, he reacted the same exact way. His eyes rolled in the back of his head and he threw his entire head back, and groaned loudly. After he picked it back up, he looked down at her and said, "Al _right_. Let's go."

Elated, she squeaked, and dragged him outside to the fields.

* * *

Somehow, later that day, Molly and Chase found themselves in Town Hall chatting it up with Gill. Molly and Gill were never entirely close, but she knew that he was with Chase so she always gave him the benefit of the doubt. She was never one to judge based off of initial attitude anymore, due to the fact that a wonderful friendship formed out of she and Chase when he was originally sarcastic and rude. So the three of them hung out behind the desk while Gill was on the job, waiting for the potential that someone might walk through the doors and need something. But usually, this late in the day, no one was found stepping through needing any assistance.

"He does it all the time," Gill growled at the two of them, finishing his story.

"What does he even _say?_ " Molly wondered, trying to bite back a smile. She couldn't help it though; this was just too much.

He rolled his eyes. "Just yesterday he walked in claiming he wanted to buy a vacation house. Because he was 'banging Luna.' I mean, it's ridiculous. _He's_ ridiculous." He gripped the bridge of his nose firmly and mumbled, "I swear, if I could throw every imbecile off this island, I would."

"Wait," Chase said, quickly glancing over at me, and then back at the frustrated blonde in front of them. "Luke and Luna aren't… _actually,_ are they?"

"I highly doubt it," Gill responded coldly. "Luna isn't an idiot. She wouldn't get herself involved with a guy like _him_ : arrogant, hyper, and just overall obnoxious. He's revolting. She's too intelligent for someone so self-centered _._ "

Gill said Luke's name as if it were rubbish, and Molly noted that. She cringed a little bit, hearing the way he spoke of Luke. She looked nervously over to Chase, who just threw her sad and concerned eyes, then accompanied by a settling grin. She felt warmer.

She knew Gill mainly said those things because of his obvious crush on Luna. And she may even like him back, however, Luna is too high and mighty to admit feelings of any sort so she certainly wouldn't do anything. Plus, she was always a fan of a good cat and mouse game—that was for sure. Chase and Molly talked about it all the time whenever Gill's name came into conversation. So of course she was going to tug Gill around before they maybe started dating, but in the mean time, this was where they were.

As if on cue, Anissa and Jin walked through the doors of the Town Hall. While they were all a little surprised to even see anyone come through at this time, Molly couldn't help but feel a wave of relief come over her. She needed out of this conversation for sure. While hearing Luke's ridiculous antics to bother Gill were surely entertaining and very, _very_ Luke, she couldn't listen to Gill's obvious disgust over the carpenter that she not only has feelings for, but also just recently made out with. It was taunting and even a bit humiliating. Even though he didn't realize what he was doing, Molly couldn't help but feel like an idiot.

"Oh! Hello everyone!" Anissa smiled sweetly to the three of us. Gill had already risen from his seat to attend to the two customers.

Molly, excited to see Anissa, waved back cheerily. She got up from her seat and made her way over towards the couple to talk to them. "Hi Anissa!" She then turned her attention to her boyfriend, Jin, whom she wasn't as familiar with. She saw more of him ever since they recently started dating, however, other than that, their only interactions were in the clinic. "Hey, Jin!"

"Good afternoon Molly," Jin smiled kindly to her. "Taking care of yourself?"

"Of course," she replied just as genuine. "What are you two doing here today?"

"Molly." She glanced over to see Gill glaring at her. "Do you mind letting me do my job?"

Taken aback, Molly threw her hands up defensively and grumbled, " _Well then!_ " before turning around and making her way back over to sit beside Chase.

"Hey," he nudged her in a whisper, as the other three talked not too far away. Molly's attention was on the chef now, her ears perked and her eyes wide. "I'm really sorry about Gill."

"It's fine," she lied with a tight heart. "Luke can get on people's nerves. It is what it is."

"You looked hurt. You _look_ hurt," Chase said worriedly. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm good," she nodded a few times, trying not to think about it. "Really."

Chase just threw her a smile, obviously trying to cheer her up. His efforts were certainly noted, because Molly couldn't help but smile back at him. She let out a sigh and clasped her hands together, intertwining her own fingers.

"He doesn't know what he's talking about, okay?" Chase continued, her eyes then looking into his. His warm smiled reappeared, and he said softer, "Just do whatever makes you happy, and forget the rest."

That bizarre feeling in the pit of her stomach returned. With a grin and a squeeze of her hands, she tried to push the feeling past her yet again. But this time, it lingered just a bit longer than it had before. She tried not to think anything of it, because granted, she didn't even know what it meant.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry, this chapter was a bit of a filler. I just wanted to show more of Chase's and Molly's relationship, because I think they deserved a closer look on their friendship. More drama (as well as different perspectives) to come soon! Love y'all!**


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